The Dozen Phillies Relievers Battling for 2 Spots

Just like last spring and the spring before, the Phillies arrive in Clearwater with few roster spots up for grabs.

The lineup is basically set. The bullpen is mostly filled with Jhoan Duran, Brad Keller, Orion Kerkering, Jose Alvarado, Tanner Banks and Jonathan Bowlan. The starting rotation is at least four-fifths stocked, even if it needs depth.

Will there be any intrigue?

"Our staff, assuming health, again (Andrew) Painter has to earn it, but it's pretty well set," president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday.

"I think six guys in our bullpen are set in Duran, Kerkering, Keller, Bowlan, Alvarado and Banks. That only leaves two more spots."

The bullpen battle

There are about a dozen guys competing for those two spots.

Relievers in play on the 40-man roster include Max Lazar, Zach Pop, Zach McCambley, Seth Johnson, Chase Shugart, Kyle Backhus and Nolan Hoffman.

There are also a host of non-roster invitees, some of them interesting veterans: Tim Mayza, Lou Trivino, Genesis Cabrera, Trevor Richards.

The Zachs

The Phillies like Pop's ability to keep the ball on the ground, though he has a 6.68 ERA the last three seasons with the Mets, Mariners and Blue Jays.

McCambley, a 26-year-old right-hander, was the Phils' selection from the Marlins in December's Rule 5 draft. They think his stuff can play well against right-handed batters, and he's coming off a great year in the upper-minors of Miami's system (2.90 ERA, 12.0 K/9). Per Rule 5 draft stipulations, the Phillies can't option McCambley to the minors. They'd have to first offer him back to the Marlins.

"One of the things that we’ve talked about looking to have over the last few years is a right-handed person in the bullpen that dominates right-handed hitters," Dombrowski told reporters at the Winter Meetings. "So we think he has a chance to do that."

The lefties

The Phillies acquired the lefty Backhus from Arizona the same day they traded Matt Strahm to the Royals for Bowlan. Backhus held lefties last season to a .139 batting average in 41 plate appearances.

Mayza made eight appearances late last season for the Phillies and 382 total since 2017. He was excellent for the Blue Jays from 2021-23 but hasn't found much consistency since.

Cabrera is the hard-throwing former St. Louis Cardinal who hit Bryce Harper in the face with a 97 mph fastball in 2021, one of the scariest sights imaginable. Left-handed velo is always in demand so he's bounced around to six different teams since despite control issues.

Other vets

Trivino had a few high-quality seasons earlier in his career — a 3.18 ERA with the A's in 2021, a 1.66 ERA down the stretch for the 2022 Yankees — then didn't pitch at all in the majors in 2023 or 2024 because of an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. If he can reestablish himself, he could be an interesting low-leverage righty with experience for the Phils.

Richards is best known for his right-handed changeup, which helped him find early success as a starter with the Marlins back in 2018 and '19. It's held hitters to a .175 batting average in the majors.

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